The present invention is related to engine circuitry, and more particularly to stator lead retaining structures.
Whereas the working environment of a motor or generator is usually vulnerable to frequent vibration, high humidity, and dust; a stator lead retainer is usually provided to effectively clamp the stator lead in position to avoid contact shortage or rust corrosion upon external connection the lead of the internal (stator) winding for conduction.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a construction of a stator lead retainer known in the prior art. The prior art stator lead retainer includes a wiring retainer 10 made of a hard plastic material (or any other harder insulation material) having multiple (two as illustrated) through-holes in rectangular section that are in parallel to one another to receive penetration of two stator leads 3 (copper wire in rectangular section for industrial purpose) extending from the motor or the generator. On each of both sides of the wiring retainer 10 by each through-hole is provided with one linking conductor 21 for external connection so that the linking conductor 21 may be processed to contact the stator lead 3 thus to produce better electric connection results for the lead 3 to connect to an external device (e.g., a rectifier).
The wiring retainer 10 of the prior art is made of hard plastic material, and as a result, the form and size of the through-hole (flat or rectangular) can only adapt to the stator lead 3 of generally the same wire diameter. As a consequence, stator leads 3 of different diameters and/or cross-sectional shapes cannot be easily accommodated by the prior art stator lead retainer. This deficiency requires the design and manufacture of special stator lead retainer designs for different stator leads, and correspondingly, greater expense for same.
What is therefore needed is a stator lead retainer design which can accommodate stator leads of different cross-sectional shapes and diameters.